Moments i'll remember
by ink on fingers
Summary: "I have parsnips; do you want to help me with them?" "I hope that's not a euthenism" muttered Ron. A collection of R/H moments, ranging from their first meeting to adulthood. just sweet little moments between them.
1. Parsnip soup

a/n yes, well, I just finished a fic and I thought, right, no more fan fiction, time to get down to work studying for your exams. But then I thought hey! How about doing a collection of r/h moments? The latter won, so here is the first chapter :D and not that you need any more reminding but, review review review please please please? Oh and also, I don't own any of the characters of harry potter. :3 much love xxx

"Hey Hermione, my mum just gave us that recipe you've been asking for, the parsnip soup one"

A young woman, probably of about twenty three walked into the sunny little kitchen.

"Oh really? I have parsnips; do you want to help me with them?"

"I hope that's not a euphenism" muttered Ron.

Hermione slapped his arm playfully and shook her head in mock despair.

"So, do you want to help me or not?"

"Well" Ron said "Normally I just eat the food, but since you're Hermione and I can't say no to you, yes I would love to make parsnip soup with you"

Hermione smiled "ok, can you get out the ingredients as I read them out then sweetie?"

Ron nodded in reply

"ok then, we need a knob of butter, a pinch of- what?" she frowned at a chuckling Ron, his laughter died down when he saw the look Hermione was giving him.

"It's nothing, just… _knob _of butter" he started laughing again.

"Honestly" said Hermione, trying to be serious but laughing too "you're so immature". There was a pause while she watched Ron getting the butter out of the fridge, then carried on.

"A large onion, garlic, milk, vegetable stock and chilli, oh and parsnips".

She waited for Ron to retrieve the questionable parsnips from the back of the fridge, then went to find her underused apron. She looped it over her neck then motioned for Ron to tie it at the back. His fingers fumbled for a while, but then stood back proudly to admire the slightly drooping bow.

"Ok" said Hermione, taking charge again. "Let's chop the onion."

Together they experimented with ways of chopping the onion. Hermione moaned slightly as her eyes began to water uncontrollably.

"Oww oww oww! I've got the onion in my eye!"

"Well I'll see what I can do about it then shall I?" He pulled back her hair to reveal the streaming eyes, he laughed and kissed away the tears gently.

"Better?" he murmured.

"Much better, healer Weasley" Hermione turned back to the chopping board and finished the onions and chopped the garlic too; she then tipped them into a large saucepan.

"Hey Hermione, it says we have to add garam masala and ginger." Said Ron, reading off the piece of paper covered in onion. "Just out of interest, what is garam masala?"

"I have no idea; I don't think anyone knows exactly what it is, it's best not to ask I think. And we're not adding ginger because we don't like it."

"I like ginger" Ron pointed out.

Hermione ignored this.

"Next add the parsnips, milk and vegetable stock" she said.

"Bossy in the kitchen, you are" Ron sighed as he poured them into the saucepan and brought to the boil. He took a glance at the recipe sheet then seasoned the soup. He then took a spoon and held it out for Hermione to taste.

"Quite tasty actually, now let it simmer for thirty minutes then it'll be done."

"I'm really hungry though" Ron pouted.

"Seriously Ron how old are you? Sometimes I question whether you're a moody three year old or a twenty three year old auror."

"I love you Hermione"

"I love you too"

"Quick! The soup's burning!" Ron rescued the smoking soup from the hob and set it down on the countertop. Hermione followed him into the kitchen.

"Parsnip soup, darling? It's homemade"

Hermione looked at Ron getting out a ladle wearing that silly grin, she burst out laughing.

"I would love some, you culinary genius, you"

They both served themselves bowls of the steaming liquid and sat down to eat it. Married life was good.


	2. Calling me home

It was a cold, grey London day. It had been raining no-stop for three hours so there were lakes of murky water on the pavement. A biting wind made men and women draw up their coats and walk faster, their heads huddled in their collars, oblivious to the world. Nobody noticed the grimy pub, in-between two office blocks. Men, women and children walked straight by it, almost as if it were invisible.

In the pub, on the top floor, there were a row of hotel rooms, only one was occupied. It was being rented by a young man; he couldn't have been any older than eighteen. The bar maid had been trying to get into his room to clean it for the past couple of days, but he never went out, not even to dinner or breakfast. Soon she gave up and prepared herself for the empty beer bottles, fast food packaging and discarded contraceptives that she would have to clear up after the young man had left.

Ron had been there for three days and seven hours. He had found the pub and believed it to be perfect for his uses, hiding. And it was. Nobody had bothered him, only the cleaner once or twice; she had called out to him, asking if he was alright in a thick Scottish accent. But she had left after a while, they always did.

He had been lying on the grimy bed for the best part of the three days, nursing the cavernous, empty hole in him. He was curled up in a foetal position, his arms wrapped around his legs, staring into space. He hadn't moved for a while. Slowly though, his arm stretched out to grab a photo on the dusty bedside table and brought it near his eyes. It was a photo he had looked at a lot since he had started sleeping in pubs and grotty hotels. It was a moving picture, with vibrant colours and laughing sounds coming from it. He stared at it for a while; it was a picture of him in a suit, dancing with a girl in a red dress. They were twirling around a near empty dance floor, the girl's sleek shiny hair mixing with the ginger strands of his as their heads leaned closer together. They were both laughing a lot as the band struck up a slower song and began another dance together. An older man who had been waiting to dance with the girl again slunk off back to his seat as the boy nervously put his hand on the girl's waist. The girl looked pleasantly surprised and in return placed her arms around his neck.

Near the end of the dance the girl hesitantly laid her head on his chest. He looked surprised but then smiled. He looked… ecstatic. But only one person noticed the delighted grin he wore, and only one person noticed the triumphant look he threw in the direction of the man who had been waiting to dance with her.

At the end of the song the two drew apart, he said something to her and she smiled, she then thanked him for the dance. His ears went red and muttered something back, but she had already gone.

He stood watching her retreating figure, as if he had just snapped back into the real world. Then he walked off the dance floor. Now he remembered that his shoes were too small, his family and friends were in mortal peril and he had to leave his home to save the wizarding world, but he had forgotten all of it for the few minutes she had been dancing with him.

That's when the picture ended and started to play from the beginning. But the boy holding the photo remembered clearly what had happened after that.

As he trailed dejectedly away from the dance floor a middle aged woman with the same ginger hair caught his arm to show him something. She had captured the past few minutes in a photo, him dancing with the girl. His ears burned red but then hugged the woman tightly, he took the photo and tucked it into his breast pocket. Then he went to get a drink.

The woman with ginger hair knew. She watched her son knowingly as he got two drinks and took them to a table. She had seen the way he looked at her, and she had seen the way she looked back. She had seen the delighted grin he wore when he danced with her; she had seen the look he had given Viktor when he had given up trying to dance with Hermione. She knew they were going away together and she knew not everything would go to plan. She had no doubt that photo would be useful and comforting to her son when he needed it most.

Putting the photo down again the boy clutched himself tighter, like he believed if he didn't he would fall apart. His mother was right he thought as tears began to slide down his pale face and onto the bedclothes. But she was wrong about one thing. She thought he would always be loyal and never let his friends down, well he had. And now all he wanted to do was go home. Not to the burrow, no. To the place he had grown to call home. The tent. He called it home now because that was the place where she was. Home would always be the place she was. He missed her so much.

The hole in him grew wider and just when he thought he would break he heard something. He could hear his name, being softly called by a voice he knew as well as his own. It was coming from his bag. He leapt off the bed and opened his bag to see an orb of light hovering. Then it rushed towards him and disappeared into his chest. He knew what he had to do. He knew it would be alright. Because he had been called home.

A/N hope you liked that I really enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoyed reading it too. Please tell me what you think, constructive criticism is always a big help. If I get one review I will be happy, but if that's not a good enough incentive if I get a review I promise I will update by tomorrow, or even today.

And if you liked this do you want to check out my other story? It's not a collection but it's a good, fluffy read (or so I'm told by my mother) and please tell me your thoughts by REVIEWING! Oh and rhmac12, my faithful reviewer, where are you? I haven't had a review from you on the last chapter . Much love xx


	3. The perfect ring

A/N Hi everyone! Here's the next chp hope you like. Also thanks for reviewing AchillesMonkey, just to say I'll check the grammar mistakes and rectify them and also I did mean youthenism but since it's a slang word and euphemism is more appropriate I have now changed it. As always thanks for reading and please review! Much love xxx

I wanted it to be perfect.

I had been waiting for the right time to propose to Hermione for a while. I thought both of us were ready for marriage now, so I was going to propose. And today I was choosing the ring.

I stood in the muggle jewellers, overwhelmed by the sheer number of rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings on display. I temporarily got distracted by a gold watch, then saw the price and got back to the job in hand.

I wanted the ring to be special. I wanted it to show I had given it a lot of thought and I cared enough to find one that suited her. Trouble was I had little idea of what she would like. I know she would like something simple, but beautiful. Not all fancy with an oversized diamond and a cluster of other precious stones so that it was heavy enough to use as a paperweight. She would like something that complemented her delicate fingers. At least, that's what I thought.

For a while I browsed the shop. I wanted a ring that showed I had thought everything through properly, expensive enough to show I cared but not too expensive so she didn't think I was doing it to show off.

I searched for a long time. I had been sure this was the right place to get the ring. I didn't want to go to a magical jewellers because I didn't want the ring to shoot fireworks or say 'I love you' every hour. I wanted it to come from a little, vintage shop like this, not a department store. And when I found this place on the way to work I was convinced it would have the perfect ring.

It was hopeless; I would have to get some help.

"Excuse me sir," I said to the shop keeper "I'm looking for an engagement ring for my girlfriend"

"Yes of course, do you need any help?"

I looked at the shop keeper properly for the first time. He was an old man. He had wispy white hair and yellowed teeth. His whole face seemed to sag slightly, as if his skin had melted a little. But underneath the bushy eyebrows were bright, green eyes. They looked wise and understanding. He reminded me of someone, he reminded me a little of a mix between Olivander and Dumbledore.

"If you describe the girl to me, how you met and the general outline of your relationship I can find you the perfect ring. I promise"

The man looked at me earnestly. What a load of rubbish, how could he find me a perfect ring? It was like going into a florist and a sales assistant asking what your girlfriend's name was then finding a bunch of flowers for her based on that information. But I didn't want to disappoint him, he obviously hadn't seen much business for a while. And then again, he had the kind of face you could trust. So I humoured him.

"Well, her name is Hermione. She's very beautiful; she has light brown curly hair, hazel eyes with flecks of yellow and plump pink lips. But she doesn't know how beautiful she is. She loves books and reading and believes education is the most powerful weapon you can have. She's the most intelligent person I know, in school they called her the brightest witc- I mean, girl of her age. She is passionate and loyal, she cares for anything or anyone who asks for help or just looks like they need it. She doesn't really like parties, she prefers to stay in and drink a bottle of wine with me and watch TV. She's a great cook, and has got me into making food with her, instead of just eating it. She drives you to better yourself, and she makes me want to be a better man. She is just a lovely, sweet person. But she has a stern side and is not afraid to tell you off. I think she's perfect."

I felt a little embarrased, i hadn't meant to ramble on that much. just a little information to make the old man happy, but, as usual when talking about Hermione, i got carried away.

i looked up to see the expression on the shop keeper's face. I expected one of exasperation and boredom, but no, he looked kind of... mesmerised. I swallowed uneasily.

"Carry on, Carry on, it's so refreshing to meet someone with a genuine love for their soon to be fionce. i know it sounds terrible, but it's true." he looked pensive for a minute, then cleared his throat, seeming to snap back into the present and said "Now, tell me, when and where did you meet?"

"How did we meet? Well, that's an easy one. We met in high school. We hated each other at first but then we became friends. In our fourth, well maybe third year I started to like her as more than a friend and although I didn't know it, she liked me as more than a friend too. It was nothing like love at first sight, we gradually fell in love. But I think that just makes it more real. Sometimes she says she fell in love with our friendship.

We've been together for six years, and every moment I've had to convince myself I'm not dead and in heaven. Because reality has become better than my dreams." I winced, I hadn't meant that to sound so corny.

There was a long pause, I watched the man intently. To my horror I saw that his eyes had filled up with tears as he muttered "young love, young love" under his breath. At once regretted telling him so much. He was probably some wisecrack old fool wanting to hear a good story from an innocent customer who didn't know any better. I had told him far too much, but I had just got carried away as usual.

As I was considering walking out the man got up and started to shuffle around, opening boxes, emptying the contents on the cluttered desk and murmuring "no, no, nope. Where are you, you little bugger?" After a while of searching intently it seemed he found what he had been looking for.

"This one is quite an old. It was sold to me by the great granddaughter of the couple who bought it originally. It's a classic though. I think it would be perfect for your wife to be" he said with a wrinkled smile, as he handed over the small object

"She'll only be my wife to be if she says yes" I joked as I took the ring.

"Oh she'll say yes" said the man as he turned away with a knowing smile.

And she would say yes, because no-one could say no to this ring. It was perfect. It was silver with veins of gold running through it and set in it was a pure diamond, with two small emeralds in either side. I loved it. It was different, like Hermione, but It was elegant and nothing showy or fancy about it. It was just beautiful.

It had words carved on the inside, when I saw them I almost had a heart attack, it was in runes. I looked up at the man to see if his eyes betrayed any knowledge of the true heritage of this ring. But he had his back to me. Hermione had made me learn runes; I only did it because she was my teacher. And she gave me fantastic incentives to succeed. The runes on the ring said "forever". I liked that, it was like some wizard from the past gave me this to carry on the love between him and his wife. I know it sounds like the ending scene of some terrible romance film, but that's what it felt like. Like their love would give Hermione and I strength and guidance as we started our life together.

I became aware of the man watching me as I got lost in my thoughts. I snapped back to reality

"I'll take it"

He gave me a look that made me think he knew too much for his own good.

"I thought you might".


	4. Letters and flirting in summer

To Hermione,

Hello, I hope you and your family are well, I was just writing to ask you to the burrow this holiday, if you wanted to come of course, when you've had time with your parents. Harry will be coming in two weeks until we go back to school. You could come anytime you want; you know you're always more than welcome. I was thinking we could go swimming down by the lake if the weather picked up, it's very beautiful down there at this time of year, and the water's as warm as anything.

Hope you can come,

Ron

P.S, sorry about pig, I think he's going through puberty or something, he's being very grouchy and will probably try and bite you. It's nothing personal.

To Ron,

Hello! Yes my parents have been fine, thank you for asking, but I've had the flu. I'm fine now though.

Thank you for the invitation, I'm going to France with my family for a week, but I would love to come a couple of days after we get back. I'm very glad to get away actually; life has been a bit of a nightmare at home. Mum and dad have been going to all these dentist conventions and they take me with them because I'm old enough now apparently, and they've been trying to set me up with all these sons of dentists. I'd rather stay at home and read. So yes, I would love to come as soon as I can, the earliest I can come is in a week and five days, is that too early? I much prefer being at the burrow than here at home, the lake sounds beautiful; I'll get my swim suit ready!

Love Hermione

P.S, don't worry about pig; I'm used to dealing with grouchy teenage boys

Hermione,

I'm going to pretend I don't know what you mean by that.

I'm sorry to hear you've been ill, have you been to see a healer? Or whatever your muggle substitute for a healer is? I think you should, even if you think you're fine now, you could have some kind of chest infection or something. Go have it checked, if just to give me peace of mind.

France sounds nice, are you going skiing like you did last year? If so wrap up properly, if you've been ill the last thing you want is to get a cold on top of it. Oh and remember: French witches are not all like fleur, part veela. You are safe.

I'm really happy to hear you can come! We want you here as soon as possible so yeah; we'll expect you here in nine days. Mum is really happy you're coming, and so is Ginny. And all my brothers. And me of course. Ginny's already made your bed in her room and is very excited to have some female company at last.

I'm sorry your home has become so unbearable because of the queue of respectable dentist's sons waiting to ask you out. Word of advice, when you meet the man of your dreams and go to meet his parents, clean your teeth thoroughly beforehand.

Love Ron

P.S don't forget to floss

Dear Ron,

I am appalled. You and your absurd notions. I'm not even going to bother explaining to you that I could never go out with a dentist or dentist's son because I would always be worrying that he was checking my teeth to make sure I was brushing them properly while we were kissing. Not that it's any of your business.

Maybe you should get a female pet, so Ginny won't feel so outnumbered while I'm not there. Tell her though that I can't wait to come and see her. And your brothers. And your parents. And you. And to prove that I do listen to you, I will have the flu checked out; my parents think it's a good idea too. But I really don't know why there's such a fuss, I only had a cough. Completely unnecessary. And here's another thing you don't have to worry about Ron, veelas. If you hadn't noticed I am female, like veelas, therefor I am not affected by them. Unlike you I don't turn to gullible mush while in their presence, so in that respect, yes, I am safe.

Yes, once again I am going skiing, I'm getting a bit sick of it, but my mum and dad love it. I prefer warm holidays, with a beach and museums. I kind of wish they would take my wishes into consideration, but they're my parents, I can't really object. But skiing's still nice.

I'll see you in a few days; I'm going to France tomorrow. Don't miss me too much

Love Hermione x

Dear Hermione

I know you're probably in France now, and Pig will have a terrible time trying to find you, and you'll probably be back before he does find you. I just wanted to say I had noticed you're female but you never know, those veelas have very powerful magic and they are also very crafty, they could turn you lesbian, and I don't want to deprive your future husband of you because I didn't warn you of those dangerous veela.

Don't hurt yourself skiing. Keep warm and don't break any bones. And remember, if you die I will kill you.

Love Ron x

P.S please don't turn lesbian

Dear Ron

You know very well I'm not a lesbian.

Love Hermione x

"Ron, Hermione's here. Come and help take her stuff up to Ginny's room."

A pounding noise of feet running down the staircase muffled Mrs Weasley's words as Ron rushed down the stairs to greet Hermione.

"Ok Hermione?" he smiled and reached out tentatively to hug her. She grinned and held out her arms for him to wrap his arms round her waist and hold her close to his muscly, tall body. Mrs Weasley looked at them with a look that suggested she knew more than they did, then excused herself by sniffing the air and claiming the bread was on fire.

"so Hermione, I see you haven't run away to chase veela's across France?"

"As you can see, no I haven't. now help me carry these bags, they're heavy"

Ron picked up two of the largest bags, his legs buckled under their weight. He sighed, he knew they were filled with books.

As he turned to start up the stairs he thought he heard Hermione say something.

"Don't worry, there's still hope, but if you don't get a move on I might be tempted"

He almost fell back down the stairs. Hermione turned around and saw that he had been just behind her, and went pink. Then started walking up the stairs a lot faster than before.

Ron looked in disbelief at her back disappearing up the stairs. Then shook himself and followed her.

It was eight o'clock in the evening, it was beginning to get dark but it was still as warm as it had been at midday. Ron was sitting on the grass, looking out onto the lake; he was reading a good book Hermione had lent him the previous day. He had really got into it. But then a beautiful sight made him put down his book and stare. Coming from the other side of the house was none other than Hermione in a low cut bikini, carrying two glasses of lemonade. She set the drinks beside Ron with words of "I thought you might be thirsty" then walked over to the lake and did a perfect swan dive into it. She surfaced and flipped her hair back; she then started to swim, with the golden sun glistening on the droplets of water on her back. If this was the effect cultured, european countries had on her then he would seriously encourage her to go to france more often. Ron shook his head in disbelief. He then settled back with his glass of lemonade to watch her.

A/N- hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the slightly flirtier side of Hermione in this. I've wanted to do a chapter with correspondents between Ron and Hermione for a while, I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Pleaaaaase review! Much love xxx


	5. Sleeping peacefully

A/N hi everyone! So sorry for not updating for ages, I had writers block for ages then my internet broke this chapter is kinda depressing but I was in that mood, I promise next chapter will be happy/ fun :D much love xxx

When Ron couldn't sleep there was only one thing that would help. Herbal tea and whale music did nothing; there was only one thing that would lull him to sleep. Ron watched her when she was oblivious to the world. The steady rise and fall of her chest and her peaceful face comforted him and eventually sent him straight to sleep. In all the pain, frustration and disappointment that was the horcrux hunt her sleeping body always managed soothed him and calm him down enough so he could drift into darkness. He knew it was kind of creepy to watch a girl sleeping when you weren't in a relationship with her but it couldn't be helped. He couldn't control it, he was just drawn to her. It didn't matter how many times he told himself she would hate it and probably punch him if she found out. She would think he was some kind of weird pervert. But he honestly couldn't help it. She was his place of peace and solace and eternal comfort.

But not tonight.

Tonight he couldn't sleep but when he turned to watch Hermione he found no comfort. In fact it upset him, a lot. She was frowning, tossing and turning, the sheets wrapped around her in a constricting way, like she was tied up. He could see tears streaming down her pale face. Beads of sweat sprang up on her forehead and her lips became redder, or maybe it was the contrast between her lips and skin colour that had changed and made her lips seem redder.

Sometimes she cried out, calling for her parents, for harry, for Ginny, even for me. She looked so scared it broke my heart and soon I could feel hot tears pricking their way into my eyes. Her breathing was shallow and ragged and her twisting became more urgent, more desperate. Her cries became more heartbroken and shrill. Her sobbing became louder. Her arms were wrapped around her head, as if she were trying to fend off some unknown danger. Ron knew she was having a nightmare, he had had countless nightmares since this ordeal with the horcruxes and falling in love thing had started, but not quite as severe as this. He wished there was some way he could comfort her, he contemplated for a few moments the best way to help her. Wake her? No, she would be embarrassed and upset that he'd seen her in such a vulnerable state. It would awkward for ages.

He didn't know what made him do it. Instinct he guessed. Damsel in distress and all that, he chose to ignore the voice in his head asking him if there wasn't a selfish argument that convinced him to do it. Ron turned on his bed side light and cautiously climbed out of bed and crept over to Hermione. He suddenly became aware of every sound he was making, his breathing sounded abnormally loud and his big feet seemed to be making a lot more noise than when it was day.

Her flailing arms almost hit him in the face, his goal keeper reflexes made him catch her arms. He held his breath, waiting for her to wake up and kill him. He cracked open an eye. Amazing. She was still sleeping. That girl was either too into her dream that she didn't notice a real danger or she was a ridiculously heavy sleeper.

Her breathing seemed to have slowed a bit. Suddenly Ron knew the only way he could comfort her. He glanced around. Harry was still very much asleep. Both harry, Hermione, and his mum would kill him if they ever knew what he was about to do. But as long as nobody woke up No-one would ever know. On the spur of the moment Ron climbed into Hermione's bed. His eyes squeezed shut as he waited for her to wake up. But she didn't. Instead of waking up and freaking out as he expected would happen, she stopped her tortured screams and stopped crying. Tentatively Ron reached out his arm and cautiously drew her close to his body. She sighed and wriggled closer to him. Ron held his breath, he certainly hadn't expected results as good as this, she was actually trying to get closer to him, and she had stopped crying. He could feel her fragile body shaking though, so he rested his chin on her head and hugged her tightly and stroked her hair. Her breathing became more regular and she stopped shaking, her heartbroken expression relaxed.

It took a long time for her to regain the usual expression that she wore while sleeping. Perhaps it was a few minutes, but then again it could have been a few hours. Time seemed to stop for Ron, every minute wasn't long enough, every second too short. It made him so happy to think he helped her, he stopped her crying, even if she wouldn't remember. He had stopped her hurting, he had stopped the pain for a little while.

Ron was so happy, the happiest he had been for a long time. Everything he needed was in his arms, sleeping peacefully. He didn't want to let go. He didn't want to miss anything because he knew that soon he would have to leave this heaven and she would wake up, and everything would be as it was before. He would still be heartbroken and she would still love Harry. But for now she was his, and for a little while he could pretend.


	6. BRAKE!

A/N Hi everybody! There you go, I updated within two days, are you proud of me? You better appreciate it, I lost an hour of sleep to write this! Anyway, please review and much love xxx

"Ok, now brake… Ron… I said brake!... BRAKE FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

The battered car skidded to a halt a few inches from the concrete post.

The couple had been in the parking lot for over three hours. It had been open way past its normal closing time. The security guard, who normally chucked anyone who was loitering out after hours, had suspiciously vanished.

It seemed that the young woman was trying to teach the young man to drive. He looked close to terrified, but he was laughing. Phrases like "stupid muggle contraptions" and "bloody hell" were almost constantly heard emanating from the young man's lips.

"It's really not that difficult, Ron. Now try again, remember what I told you?"

"yes yes, I know, first gear to push off, then don't crash the car. Easy"

"Spot on"

She leaned over and kissed Ron on the nose,

"A little incentive for you"

He looked pleased, then very determined as he got the car into gear and started the ignition.

Hermione watched nervously from the front seat, she had every faith in Ron, but when it came to driving she couldn't help being a little neurotic. She watched him as he frowned in concentration and muttered the steps under his breath, he noticed her watching him and looked embarrassed.

"What? Am I doing it wrong?"

"I'm not telling you, you'll know if you've done it wrong if the car makes a weird noise and doesn't move"

"But i can't remember!" Ron wined

Hermione silenced him with a look, then took pity on his bewildered face as he stared at the gears and helped him. Once the battered Volvo was in the correct gear Ron pushed down the pedal, his eyes screwed shut. The car leapt forward.

"Oh merlin, I'm going so fast! How do you stop it? Where's the brake? I lost it again! Hermione, help!

"Ron for God's sake, will you please calm down? We're going at…" she reached over and looked at the speedometer "seven miles an hour. I think an old man with a zimmer frame just overtook us."

Just then a furry ginger cat strolled lazily past in front of the car and sat down, then began to wash its paws.

"Hermione, there's a cat right in front of us and I can't stop the car! I'm going to run it over unless it moves, and it doesn't show any signs of doing so. What do i do? Hermione!"

"Ron the brake is right there! Quick put your foot on it before you brutally murder someone's beloved pet"

"Why is it always ginger cats that give me trouble? Last night Crookshanks slept on my face, I swear he was trying to suffocate me."

"Ron, he only did that because he likes your aftershave, now hurry up and put the brakes on!"

"I can't find them!"

"Then turn!"

Ron twisted the steering wheel hard left, excruciatingly slowly the car began to turn sideways.

"How is that damn cat still sitting there, oblivious to the fact that it's just about to be run over?" Ron screamed "get out of the road you fat lump!"

"Ron! Don't abuse poor innocent animals! Just lift your foot off the acceleration!"

"That cat is anything but innocent" Ron said as he stared darkly at it.

Ron drew his legs up off the pedals and scrambled into the back seat.

"Ron!" screamed Hermione as she grabbed the steering wheel and swerved sideways, narrowly missing the cat that was now lying on its back, apparently sleeping. She pulled the key out of the ignition to turn off the engine and turned to face Ron. "Don't you dare try quitting on me! It's important you can blend in with the muggle community around us, and that means no broomsticks, no apparition and no floo powder. This is the only way to get around without walking or taking public transport. Now get a grip and try again, we're not leaving until you have at least managed to drive a foot without almost running something over."

"If you think I'm going to pass my driving test in a month you're barmy. I am never, ever setting foot in one of these useless muggle contraptions again. I would rather get charged by the ministry of magic for magic in front of muggles. I would kiss my great aunt Muriel if it meant you left me alone about this driving thing."

"Is that so?" Hermione growled.

Ron drew his legs further up the seat.

"Please Hermione, Ginny isn't making Harry drive!"

"I don't care about Harry, I want you to learn to drive!"

"Hermione, do what you like, I don't care, stop having sex with me, leave me for Viktor. I am not learning to drive"

"Oh really? Because I think I still have Viktor's post code in my address book, I'm sure he'll be more than glad to meet up again. I don't think Viktor's the kind of person to refuse to learn to drive, in fact, he probably already knows how to drive. Being an international quidditch player he kind of has a knack for these things. Don't you think so, Ron darling?" She looked sweetly up at him

"Hey, guess what?" Said Ron, waving a piece of paper in his hands, "I passed!"

"congratulations! I know you could do it! Fifth time lucky eh?" cried Hermione as she hugged him.

"I can do anything now" Ron shouted happily "and all because my girlfriend is a natural born teacher and talented at everything" he smiled affectionately down at her, and kissed her lightly on the lips

"Aren't we being a gentleman? I see no signs of gloating or running around the room with your top over your head trying to impersonate muggle football players. What happened?"

"I can't gloat because I couldn't have done any of it without you"

Hermione blushed

"I love you" she said quietly as she kissed him back

"Love you more" he said as he kissed her back

"Ron!" A figure sitting at a bar with black, untidy hair and a small scar on his forehead waved at him and motioned hime to sit next to him "I heard you passed your driving test, so who did you sleep with?"

"What! How dare you!" ron said, outraged "If I was going to cheat on my driving test I would do it in a more effective way than that."

"So you confounded the examiner?"

"Of course, I couldn't fail five times in a row, that would just be embarrassing".

"Nice one"


End file.
